The annual general body meeting of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) got under way at the Gokulam Convention Centre in Kochi on Sunday morning. Celebrities from across the industry who are also members of AMMA made a beeline to the venue. Mohanlal, Manju Warrier, Vijay Babu, Lal, Indrajith, Tovino Thomas, Grace Antony, Madhupal, Tiny Tom arrived early for the meeting. Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi is also expected to arrive soon for the event.
Election to the key positions in AMMA is also under way. Veteran actor Siddique, who lost his elder son Rasheen recently, is contesting along with Kukku Parameshwaram and Unni Sivapal for the general secretary post, which was held by actor Idavela Babu for several years. Idavela Babu had expressed his desire to quit the post during the previous election held in 2021, but reversed the decision following an emotional appeal by senior actor Mammootty. Meanwhile, Mohanlal was re-elected as the president of AMMA for the third time at a meeting held in Kochi on June 19.
Actors Kukku Parameshwaram, Anoop Chandran and Jayan Cherthala had initially submitted their nominations for the post of president. However, they later withdrew their names and decided to contest in other key positions.
Vice-presidents
Three candidates – Jagadish, Jayan Cherthala and Manju Pillai – are in the fray for elections to two vice president posts. Shwetha Menon and Maniyanpilla Raju who contested along with Asha Sharath in the previous elections are the current vice-presidents.
Treasurer
Siddique who is the present treasurer of AMMA will complete his term on June 30, and will give way to Unni Mukundan who has been selected as the new office bearer as he was the only one who submitted nominations to the post.
Joint Secretary
There are two contestants for the post of joint secretary, which is now occupied by Jayasurya. Baburaj and Anoop Chandran are candidates for the post.
Executive Committee
There are 11 posts of executive committee members, for which 12 candidates are in the fray. Except Tovino Thomas, none of the members of the outgoing committee which has completed its term is contesting this time. Apart from Tovino, the others in the fray include Ananya, Ansiba Hassan, Joy Mathew, Kalabhavan Shajon, Ramesh Pisharody, Rony David, Sarayu Mohan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Suresh Krishna, Tiny Tom and Vinu Mohan.
Women’s representation
Under AMMA’s bylaws, four among the 17 office-bearers should be women. With two women contesting for the post of vice-president, a final decision on the strength of women in the executive committee would be taken after that election.